No abstract

Pregnancy-specific protein B (PSPB) is produced by mono and binucleate trophoblast cells in the placenta of ruminants during pregnancy. This study was designed to determine the pattern of serum PSPB in Yankasa ewes during pregnancy and postpartum periods. Mature cycling Yankasa ewes were synchronized and divided into two groups A (n=11) and B (n=13). Group A was bred, while group B was unbred. Blood samples for PSPB assessment were collected from the ewes starting from the day of breeding until 4 weeks post-lambing. All pregnant Yankasa ewes lambed with singleton lambs after an average of 151.18 days. There was a significant (p<0.05) increase in PSPB in pregnant compared with the non-pregnant ewes in the period between 3 weeks post-breeding and 3 weeks post-lambing. Peaks were detected in the first (100.60 ng/ml), second (133.90 ng/ml), and third (114.82 ng/ml) trimesters at 5, 10 and 21 weeks of gestation, respectively, but steadily decreased within 4 weeks (2.38 ng/ml) postpartum. In conclusion, PSPB detected pregnancy in Yankasa ewes from 3 weeks post-breeding with peak levels at 5, 10 and 21 weeks post-breeding in the first, second, and third trimesters, respectively. PSPB decreased gradually after lambing until 4 weeks postpartum.

A 2 – row soybean planter has been fabricated according the design specifications and field performance of the planter was evaluated on 0.5 ha (500 m2) plot of land on the college farm of Federal College of Education, Katsina. Five (5) levels of speed of operation (0.42 m/s, 0.56 m/s, 0.69 m/s, 0.83 m/s and 0.97 m/s) were used to evaluate performance of the fabricated planter. Results of performance evaluation of the fabricated planter reveal that 0.83 m/s speed of operation produces planting parameters with values that are very close to the recommended planting parameters of soybean TGX 1448 – 2E. Thus, indicating that 0.83 m/s is the best speed of operation of the fabricated planter with mean value of 24.72 kg/h seeding rate, 98.14 % uniformity of spacing, 78.05 % planting efficiency and 7 broken seeds per 100 seeds. The analysis of variance at P > 0.05 reveals that speed of operation has a positive effect on the seeding rate and field capacity; a negative effect on planting efficiency of the fabricated 2 – row soybean planter. Thus, seeding rate and field capacity increases with increasing speed while the planting efficiency decreases with increasing speed of operation. Functional performance test results indicate a significant relationship of the speed of operation with seeding rate, field capacity and planting efficiency of the planter where as uniformity of spacing and percentage damaged seeds are relatively un affected by the speed of operation of the planter.